Christians Are Not Called To Obey The Old Testament

Christians obeying the Old Testament laws is "the hot thing" right now, but this seems to conflict with the way I read the New Testament.

I see this mostly in Hebrew congregations that embrace Jesus as Messiah and skeptics who tell me Christians are hypocrites because they are not obeying the entire Bible.

While I do not fully understand how the followers of Jesus are to receive the Old Testament, I do not think they are required to keep all the rules of it.

The most common case I hear people make that Christians should obey the Old Testament is an appeal to Jesus’ words:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17‭-‬20 ESV

Jesus contrasts abolishing the Law with fulfilling it. Then he says nothing will pass from the Law but he doesn’t say exactly which law he is talking about. He later goes on to say he is giving a new commandment, a new torah.

Jesus is saying he expects his followers to fully embrace and obey the commands of God. Identifying what those commands are is not his focus here, but some bring this passage up to insist the followers of Jesus should obey the Old Testament.

As a Protestant, there is also a danger in thinking that because Jesus brings God’s grace into our life we don’t have to obey God any more. Jesus is saying we are fully called to obey God.

Next, I want to review how God called Peter to eat animals that were considered unclean. This would be considered disobedience to someone who was called to obey the Old Testament.

In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common."

Acts 10:12‭-‬15 ESV

People have told me this vision parallels the acceptance of the gentiles into the church. And it does.

But fully bringing gentiles into the faith and fully embracing these foods is outside of what is allowed in the Old Testament. This is because God initiated a change in what commands the believers are to follow.

Another example: the woman at the well is confused because she thinks people are required to worship in Jerusalem, but that is very far away and they would not have been welcomed.

Jesus tells this woman that “a time is coming and has already come when you will worship in spirit and in truth” (see John 4:23). The way Jesus puts this sounds to me like he is making a change.

Another example: in Galations, Paul addresses the problem where people are making the mistake of telling the gentiles they must obey the Jewish laws including circumcision.

For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Galatians 2:12‭-‬13 ESV

This is one example of where people in the book of Acts were trying to get people to obey the Old Testament and this was causing division and hypocrisy.

And prior to this in the same chapter, Paul writes about the false believers who were trying to get the people to follow extra laws:

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Galatians 2:4‭-‬5 ESV

Paul resists these efforts to make believers follow the laws of the Old Testament so that the truth of the good news would be received.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Galatians 5:6 ESV

If the followers of Jesus are called to obey the Old Testament laws (which do require circumcision), then why is Paul insisting the gentiles do not have to follow these laws? And why does he call those who tried to get people to follow them false brothers?

It’s because Christians are not called to obey the Old Testament.

But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

Galatians 5:18 NLT

Paul goes even further in Philippians saying that those who call people to circumcision are dogs and mutilators of the flesh:

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Philippians 3:2‭-‬3 ESV

Paul is not calling people to obey the letter of the Old Testament law. He is calling them to be inwardly set apart and to follow the literal command of God’s law of love.

So these are all cases where people are trying to carry out what the Old Testament commands but they are rebuked or redirected by the Spirit of God.

Not only are the followers of Jesus not required to obey the Old Testament, but the New Testament clearly says it is superior to the old covenant.

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

Hebrews 8:6‭-‬7 ESV

If people were really going to obey all the commands in the Old Testament, wouldn’t they start sacrificing on altars? God told Noah to build an ark; are people going to start building those as well? What about all the commands related to a king and civil government?

Jesus takes obedience to God’s calling very seriously and the Hebrew writings are full of principles and insights into the values of God. This is not to say he is looking for followers to obey the commands in the old covenant which depend on his work in the new covenant.

Instead, Christians should involve themselves in obeying the new command (torah) of love from Jesus and the apostles he commissioned to lead the Church.

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